Document processing devices include printers, copiers, scanners and e-mail gateways. More recently, devices employing two or more of these functions are found in office environments. These devices are referred to as multifunction peripherals (MFPs) or multifunction devices (MFDs). As used herein, MFPs are understood to comprise printers, alone or in combination with other of the afore-noted functions. It is further understood that any suitable document processing device can be used.
Users may send document processing jobs, such as a print request, to one or more networked MFP devices. In a typical shared device setting, one or more workstations are connected via a network. When a user wants to print a document, an electronic copy of that document is sent to a document processing device via the network. The user may select a particular device when several are available. The user then walks to the selected device and picks up their job or waits for the printed document to be output. If multiple users send their requests to the same device, the jobs are queued and outputted sequentially.
In certain situations, a user may not wish their printout to be sitting at the MFP waiting for pickup insofar as private document content could be available for anyone to see prior to being picked up by the sending user. In a private printing operation, the user is required to login at the MFP before their job will be released for printing. It may be desirable to have a user login to an MFP for many other reasons, such as limiting device availability to employees, or to a limited group of employees, such as the accounting department. Login may also be used to control which MFP operations are available to a particular user. For example, some users may be precluded from making color printouts or color copies given increased expense in doing so. Login may also be used to track MFP usage by individual, department, location, etc. Login may also allow for accounting functions, such as usage charges, to be assessed appropriately.
Login is typically accomplished with entry of a username and password at an MFP user interface. MFP user interface devices often include touchscreen displays. When a user wishes to login, a rendering of a virtual keyboard on the touchscreen allows the user to type in the appropriate username and password. An example rendering of such a virtual keyboard is illustrated by display 100 of FIG. 1 such as may appear on a MFP touchscreen.